A typical prior art flashlight 10 is shown in FIG. 1. The flashlight 10 typically includes a rigid tubular battery housing 12, in which one or more batteries 14 are disposed. One of the batteries 14 electrically connects to a light bulb assembly 16 or any other consumer of the energy supplied from the battery, which may have screw threads for screwing on to housing 12. (It is noted that a flashlight is just one example. Other examples include the battery connecting to a small motor, toy and the like.) An end cap 18 may also have screw threads for screwing on to the opposite end of housing 12. End cap 18 may be in electrical communication with one of the batteries 14 by means of a spring 20 or other resilient connection designed to compensate for any tolerances. A switch 22 selectively closes the circuit between the batteries 14 and the light bulb assembly 16.
One of the drawbacks of such prior art such as flashlights is their rigidity. The more the batteries or the longer they are, the more inconvenient and bulky the appliance such as a flashlight becomes to carry on one's person or to store or to use.
Various attempts have been made in the past to make flexible flashlights. The prior art flexible flashlights typically include a rigid battery housing connected by some flexible connection to the light bulb assembly. However, such prior art flexible flashlights still comprise a rigid battery housing and therefore do not adequately solve the abovementioned problem.